The challenger: City resident Susan Kuiler
The George Snyder Trail project made Susan Kuiler pay more attention to Fairfax City Council meetings. Now, this issue and others have compelled her to run for mayor.
“I was concerned that they were going to cut a trail in the woods, 50 yards away from my house, which would destroy hundreds of trees – including those that would be damaged as a result of the work,” she said. “It would also add air pollution from Fairfax Boulevard; and without the trees, there’d be more storm runoff and flooding into Cambridge Station Park.”
Kuiler said residents proposed an alternative route using existing roads. “It would be less destructive and less expensive,” she said. “And I didn’t think [the proponents] were giving good enough reasons for continuing with their plans and not adjusting course, with the new information we provided. The citizens would bear the cost in terms of the environmental impact. I believe the people who’d benefit from it most are those wanting a recreational trail for bicycling.”
“While I, too, support multimodal transportation and trails, I do not do so when such projects require the wanton destruction of our dwindling forests and green spaces,” she continued. “The mayor has dismissed residents’ concerns as being voiced by only a handful of people complaining, which she has characterized as the ‘not-in-my-backyard’ complaint. Over 2,600 people signed a petition to save the trees; this is not a handful of people.”
Kuiler said she spoke with people testifying before City Council about other issues, as well, and “A lot of the residents felt like they weren’t being listened to.”
Another example, she said, is the Route 123/Eaton Place transportation project. It’s a dangerous, 7-way intersection with 66 conflict points and a history of accidents and deaths. So changes are going to be made there to improve safety.
But, said Kuiler, “The nearby residents and businesses are furious about it because access to their neighborhoods and businesses will be adversely impacted by only having one way in and one way out.”
She said residents are also concerned about the push for high-density development “because the impacts on our road network, schools, police and emergency services, water-and-sewer infrastructure, green spaces, flood resilience, and other factors have not been addressed. Viable alternatives have also not been identified and analyzed.
“Residents do not want the City of Fairfax to become another Arlington or even the Mosaic District. To say that such projects have been in various iterations of the [City’s] Comprehensive Plan for years and, therefore, residents are aware of them, is somewhat disingenuous and beside the point – because people tend to pay attention when projects affect their neighborhoods and their ability to travel smoothly through the City.”
Kuiler said she also wants to know a project’s maintenance and operation costs, as well as what they’re based on. “I’d like to look at the City’s projects, current and planned, and see where they are in terms of costs and schedules. Council needs to do that periodically to see where they stand. I think staff and the city manager could do a lot of this.”
And, she added, “We owe each other the reasons for our disagreements. I think Council might not be asking the right questions of [City] staff or asking it to provide adequate alternatives. I want to control the pace of development; we need to do really effective land-use planning. Regarding multi-use projects involving both commercial and residential, we need to look at alternatives.”
“I want to take a closer look at the projects being proposed for their potential effects on crime here, too,” continued Kuiler. “I also want to see opportunities, such as public-private partnerships, to be explored to provide middle-income and workforce housing. People wanting to stay here and downsize can’t afford a condo or apartment starting at $900,000 to $1 million.”
She said retirees wanting step-down housing aren’t currently able to find it in their price range in the City. “Their children cannot afford to move here, either,” said Kuiler. “So we need to identify diverse housing options and not mouth platitudes about ‘affordable’ housing. We also have to attract new businesses to add to the City’s tax base and reduce the amount that residents have to pay.”
“We need a mayor with business acumen who could take a hard look at our spending and budget,” she said. “I’d prefer making streets safer for bicycles over paving our forests. And I’d rather not have high-density development on the outskirts bring traffic problems to the neighborhoods.
“There are a lot of things we could do to address climate change and make this a more livable community and mitigate the risk of communities getting flooded. I’m less concerned about having the community connected because sometimes people have to use their cars. But I also want our roads safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.”
Calling public safety another major issue for her, Kuiler said, “Crime has increased and residents are being harassed when they walk our trails, walk from their neighborhoods to area parks, wait for buses, shop for groceries and gas. We need to work with the police and – depending on the offense and the offender – social services to find out what works to prevent and deter crime, impediments to prosecution, and how to make our community safer.”
She also noted that homelessness in Fairfax is a big concern for residents, “particularly when many of the visible homeless are from other jurisdictions. The [City’s homelessness] task force was a start in addressing homelessness. We now need to identify practical ways of providing social services for those who need and are willing to avail themselves of such services.”
Furthermore, said Kuiler, “The county needs to step up by offering an additional shelter near the City. The working poor, particularly those with children, are often overlooked because they are working and not gathering at places like the Wawa or The Lamb Center. We need to find ways, working collaboratively with local businesses, religious and secular organizations, and social service agencies, to give them a leg up.”
Basically, she said, she’s running for mayor because “no one else was going to do it, and I really believe there needs to be some new leadership. I don’t think the current Council members are acting collaboratively with each other. As mayor, I will listen and try to bring people together, and I’ll try to work collaboratively both with Council and staff.”